People in US Trust Bitcoin More Than Facebook's Libra: Report

Compared with bitcoin, people in the U.S. don't trust Facebook's anticipated new stablecoin Libra, according to a new survey.

In the poll of 1,799 U.S. adults carried out since Facebook's white paper launch in mid-June, consumer insights provider CivicScience found that, of those that expressed a view, just 2 percent felt they would trust Libra and its Calibra wallet more than bitcoin.

By comparison, a hefty 40 percent said they'd trust the public cryptocurrency more, while 19 percent said they'd trust both options about the same.

From the surveyed group, less than 10 percent had actually bought cryptocurrencies, CivicScience pointed out.

Facebook's poor track record on preserving user privacy, such as with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, was also evident in the results, with 77 percent saying they did not trust the firm with their personal data at all. Again, just 2 percent said they'd trust Facebook a lot.

The lack of trust in Libra is also backed up by overwhelming lack of interest in the project, the poll indicates. When asked if they were interested in Facebook's crypto and wallet, 86 percent of respondents said not at all. Around 5 percent expressed interest.

CivicScience said that people in the 18-to-24 age range had showed the most interest (30 percent) in Libra. They also polled as more keen Facebook users and had more experience with mobile payment apps such as Venmo and Apple Pay.

The next biggest age group was those in the 25-29 range, of whom 18 percent expressed interest. Only 7 percent of the 65-plus group had any interest in Libra.

CivicScience said more research is needed to understand the high levels of mistrust towards the Facebook crypto. However, it said:

"Similar to when Bitcoin first mysteriously surfaced ten years ago and brought with it the cryptocurrency gold rush, no one really knows what to expect when some of the largest corporations in the world collaborate to create their own version. Regardless, it’s definitely an exciting trend to watch unfold."

Looking more broadly, a different CivicScience survey of more than 2,100 U.S. adults in July found that a sizable 79 percent have heard of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

However, it found that most respondents aren’t holding or using crypto and aren’t planning to. The firm said just 6 percent of those polled had invested in cryptocurrency, with half liking the experience.

Libra image via Shutterstock; graph via CivicScience